Homemade Orangecello Liqueur

Homemade Orangecello liqueur on the rocks.

Liqueurs are versatile. They make a good after dinner drink to sip instead of a big dessert. They can also be used with a mixer for a lighter daytime thirst quencher.

I found a recipe for Orangecello Liqueur online and it peaked my interest. We use a lot of oranges in our breakfast fruit bowls, so I have plenty of orange peels that can be used for other purposes.

Here's the complete recipe I found online. I cut mine in half.

Homemade Orangecello Liqueur

Remove bitter white pith from peels.

Ingredients:

1 bottle 80-proof vodka
peels from 6 oranges
half of a vanilla bean
Simple syrup (2 cups water and 2 cups sugar)

Directions:

Remove as much white pith as you can from the orange peels. The pith will make the Orangecello bitter.

Place ingredients in a jar.

Slice the prepared peels into strips.

Place the ingredients in a sealable container. I used a Mason jar with a plastic lid. Save the orange fruit for other uses.

Store the jar in a dark place.

Check daily to make sure the vanilla bean isn’t overpowering the mixture. Remove the vanilla bean after three days maximum.

My Orangecello resting in the pantry.

Let the mixture continue to infuse with the orange peels for five to seven additional days. Check daily to make sure the flavour and colour are to your liking.

More orange flavour will be imparted to the alcohol the longer it infuses. I left mine work for two weeks and it was perfect for my taste.

Strain the mixture.

Strain the mixture.

Make a simple syrup with two cups of water and two cups of sugar. Heat and stir until the sugar is dissolved.

Allow the simple syrup to cool completely. Add one cup to the infused alcohol and give it a taste test.

Add more if you like a sweeter liqueur. Because mine was a little bitter, I used the whole amount.

It reduces the amount of liquor in the final product, but for me it improved the taste.

Make a simple syrup.

Chill the Orangecello, or serve it on the rocks.

It also makes a nice, light spritzer by combining it with lemon-lime soda.

The completed Orangecello liqueur will keep for several months, if it lasts that long. It’s like drinking liquid orange candy.

Add cooled simple syrup to the infused alcohol and store in a sealed container.

I hate to throw useful things away, so I put the strained orange peels in a pan and let them dry in the oven with the pilot heat. I love it when nothing goes to waste. -- Margy